A recent survey by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has concluded that there is over 1.2 billion cubic yards of contaminated sediment in the United States requiring treatment. In addition to this large volume of contaminated sediment, a large volume of contaminated soil that requires treatment is present at numerous Brownfield sites, Superfund sites and other industrial sites. Typically, these soils and sediments are contaminated with one or more hazardous materials such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Dioxins, Chlorinated Pesticides, Semi-Volatile Organic contaminants (SVOCs) and Volatile Organic Contaminants (VOCs).
Typical treatment technologies for decontaminating soils and sediments include incineration, vapor extraction, biological remediation, solvent extraction and surfactant washing. Once treated, the soils/sediments are typically sent to a landfill for disposal. Heretofore, the above-described treatments have typically been accomplished by first transporting the contaminated soil/sediment to an offsite, permitted treatment facility. More specifically, a transport container such as a roll-off bin must first be trucked out to the contaminated site together with transfer equipment such as a backhoe. After transport of the contaminated material to the treatment facility, the contaminated soil/sediments are typically transferred from the roll-off bin to a larger treatment container. Depending on the type and number of treatments that are required, the material may thereafter be transferred several times to several different treatment containers. After offsite treatment, the treated material is often transferred back into a roll-off bin for transport to a landfill whereupon the material is once again transferred, this time from the roll-off bin and into the landfill.
In nearly all cases, the above-described transfers and the transportation of the soil/sediments are time consuming and extremely expensive. In addition to the financial costs, each transfer can potentially release contaminants to the environment, for example, by the generation of dust or the release of volatiles. Also, contaminants may be released during transport, for example, if the transport vehicle is involved in an accident. Accordingly, transportation of contaminated material poses a risk to the residents and the environment along the transportation route. Because of these risks, transport and transfer operations are typically regulated by local, state and/or the federal government and this regulation can significantly increase the costs of these operations.
Another factor that affects the cost of transferring and transporting soils and sediments is the fact that soils and sediments are typically very heavy. In particular, sediments obtained using dredging processes can be extremely heavy due to their high water content that typically constitutes about 30% to 95% of the dredged material. The heavy nature of soil/sediments dictates that storage, shipping and treatment containers have significant structural strength. Typically, these containers are made of steel, causing the containers to be heavy and expensive.
Although there are certain advantages to processing soil/sediments at the contaminated site, in the past these efforts have typically involved transporting the various treatment containers, storage containers and processing equipment (similar to those that are used at an offsite treatment facility) to the contaminated site. Unfortunately, the transportation and post-treatment decontamination of this equipment typically constitutes a major portion of the total cleanup cost.
In light of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide systems and methods for the storage, treatment (including de-watering), and disposal of contaminated soil/sediments in a single container that can be efficiently constructed(at a contamination site. It is another object of the present invention to provide systems and methods for constructing a container at a contamination site for use in the storage, treatment and disposal of contaminated soil/sediments that can be fabricated without heavy structural elements that must be shipped to the contaminated site. It is yet another object of the present invention to provide systems and methods for the creation of an onsite soil/sediment treatment container that can be easily sized for the volume of soil and sediment that requires treatment at the site. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide methods and systems for the onsite storage, treatment, and disposal of contaminated soil/sediments which are easy to use, relatively simple to implement, and comparatively cost effective.